Socket-wrench tool



1930. E. H. PETERSON AL 1,744,413

= SOCKET WRENCH TOOL Filed July 5, 1929 12/02/02:; az/araWPe/enswz wvmfW-Wfazy/rt .57 I i a a Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFECE.

EDWARD I'I. PETERSON AND NORRIS F. MCNAUGHT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO BUILD METAL PRODUCTS OOIVIPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS SOGKETNVRENCI-I TOOL Application filed July 5, 1923.

The present invention relates to socket wrench tools, and is particularly concerned with handles for use with socket wrenches.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved socket wrench handle, which is capable of use with a socket wrench or other similar tools, in a plurality of different ways, providing maximum leverage or maximum length of the tool as desired by the user.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a socket wrench handle, comprising a pair of separable parts, including a grip and a shaft, which may be combined to form a T-shaped wrench handle or L-shaped handles of various sizes to suit the convenience of the operator, and to permit access to parts not otherwise accessible.

Another object is the provision of a handle of the class described, the parts of which maybe made to fit snugly and firmly with a minimum expenditure of time and labor,

so that there is no danger of slippage between the parts of the tool, which might in- 2 jure the user.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the single sheet of drawings accompanying this specification:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a socket wrench tool assembly, with the parts assembled to form a T-shaped handle;

Fig. 2 is a similar view looking from the side and bottom of the handle to illustrate the tool as assembled to form an L-shaped handle of greatly increased leverage;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified assembly of the same elements, forming an L-shaped tool with a shank of considerable length and greater leverage than that of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on the plane of the line l4; of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, 10 indicates the socket wrench assembly in its entirety, and the embodiment chosen to illustrate the invention Serial No. 375,980.

includes an ordinary wrench socket 11, and a handle, including a shaft 13 and a grip 1 1. The handle 13 may be used with all types of wrenches and is not limited to a socket wrench of the particular type shown.

In the present embodiment, the shaft 13 comprises an elongated cylindrical member having a laterally bent end 15, and while a cylindrical handle is most conveniently constructed from ordinary metal stock, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular shape of the stock used, and in some embodiments of the invention, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft may take other forms, provided the grip is modified correspondingly.

The lower end of the shaft 13 in Fig. 1 is provided with a non-circular formation 16, having a spring pressed ball 17 for engagement in a complementary recess in the socket 11. and the formation of the non-circular end 16 provides shoulders 18 which determine the final position of the shaft in the socket 11. The opposite end of the shaft 13 is likewise provided with a non-circular formation 19 and a spring pressed ball 20, and the shaft 13 is preferably provided with a lug 21 located on the same side of the shaft as the laterally bent end 15, and formed by pressing out a portion of the shaft 13.

The grip 1 1 comprises sheet metal member, the central portion 33 of which is bent to substantially U shape, having downwardly extending flanges 22, 23 joined by a yoke 2 1 of substantially cylindrical shape. The flanges 22 and 23 are provided with inwardly pressed protuberances 25 and 26, giving the interior of the U-shaped portion 33 the conformation shown in Fig. 4, which is substantially complementary to the laterally bent end 15 of the shaft. That is, at the plane i l, the grip 14 embraces the end 15 of shaft 13 over more than half the circumference, thereby retaining the grip on the shaft. The protuberances 25 and 26 are preferably, but not necessarily, elongated protuberances formed by the use of a tool having an edge of greater length than width, so that the protuberances extend longitudinally of the cylindrical shaft end 15. 

